Nobody's Hero
by Princess-Superfreak
Summary: When everything gets too much to bear, Brooke Davis does the one thing she promised herself she'd never do. She ran. When she returns three years later, can she deal with facing what she left behind and the secrets she's been hiding?
1. Runaway

**I, sadly, don't own anything except maybe the storyline. **

**This is the first story I've ever had the courage to put on here! All reviews are appreciated, good and bad, and I'll try and take in everything y'all say so that hopefully, I can become a super spiffy writer! **

**P.S: Don't ask my about the title because I don't think it really has anything to do with the story... it might do though... I dunno, I'm talking bull balonie. **

"Brooke! Brooke, will you just stop for two minutes?" Peyton Sawyer ran to catch up with her former best friend. Her curly blonde hair bounced lightly with every step she took. Eventually she caught up with Brooke and grabbed her arm, spinning her around to face her. "I'm sorry!" She said, her eyes full of sorrow and regret.

Brooke glared at her. How dare she be the one trying to get sympathy! "Save it Sawyer," she said in a cold tone. "I don't wanna hear what you have to say." She span around and continued to walk back to class. Peyton followed.

"I'm not going to keep apologising forever Brooke!" She yelled.

And with that comment, Brooke died a little inside. She was really going to lose her best friend, and the worst thing was that with two words she could save herself from ever being alone again. By just saying "It's ok". But she couldn't do it. Peyton and Lucas had betrayed her and she'd promised herself she'd never get hurt again. So she continued walking. Walking away from the only person who'd ever understood her.

And the whole school watched her walk. They were all thinking the same thing.

She deserves everything she gets...

----------

Since the "incident" Lucas and Peyton did their best to avoid each other, deciding that maybe if they kept any contact between them minimal, that Peyton would stand a chance of getting her best friend back. With that thought now broken, Peyton and Lucas met up at Karen's Café.

"I just don't know what else to say to her Lucas! I hurt her so much." Peyton's thin fingers grasped her coffee cup as she absentmindedly swilled the now cold liquid around in her mug. "How could I have done that to her?" She looked up at Lucas. "How could _we _have done that?"

Lucas sighed. "Because we're idiots." He joked badly. "She'll come around soon."

"But what if she doesn't? Lucas I don't know what I'd do without her. She's my best friend in the whole world."

"I don't know what to say"

Peyton shrugged. "So, how's Basketball?" She said, attempting to change the subject.

"Pretty much the same as always." He laughed. "I run around and throw balls about and – "he was interrupted by the sound of Peyton's laugh, filling the café. He looked at her curiously. "What's so funny?" He asked.

"Nothing... it's just... you said you throw balls about." She managed to splutter out.

Lucas held back his own laughter. "Mature Peyt, very Mature." He said, before starting to laugh as well. That's when the bell above the door signalled the arrival of a customer entering. Peyton and Lucas looked up, both chuckling slightly, but their smiles faded when they saw who was there.

"Cosy, are we?" Brooke asked, sarcastically. "Don't let me interrupt."

"Brooke, it's not what it looks like." Lucas said, standing up from his chair. Peyton stood too, looking at her friend in horror.

"Save it, Stud." She said shrugging her shoulders and making her long hair gently fall behind her back. "We don't go out anymore, remember? Not my business." Her head was telling her to leave right now, but her heart was telling her to stay. Not one to follow her heads good advice she stood and waited for her ex friend and ex boyfriend to say something.

"We were just talking. About you actually." Peyton said. She glanced over at Lucas, who had a confused look on his face. She knew why Brooke was still here, but he didn't, she realised. She knew Brooke so well.

"You were laughing." Said the brunette, a mixture of hurt and amusement in her voice. "Must have been some conversation. 'Remember Brooke? She was a stupid whore wasn't she! Didn't even notice what we were doing right under her nose'" She shouted, doing a very bad impression of one of their voices. Neither Lucas nor Peyton was quite sure whom she was trying to imitate. The rest of the customers had stopped eating and drinking and instead had all their attention focused on the three teenagers who quite obviously were in the middle of some serious drama. They would have laughed at Brooke's poor imitation, but the seriousness of the situation loomed in the air and they barely dared to breath.

"That's not true Brooke and you know it!" Lucas said, his voice rising. "How many more times can we say we're sorry?!"

"As many as you want, it doesn't change anything and it doesn't mean I'm going to forgive you" She spat. "Whatever, you know? I'm out" She turned and left the café.

Lucas and Peyton stood stunned at what had just happened, before Peyton grabbed her coat and left the café too.


	2. I'm Coming

Brooke ran, as fast and as far as she could, from everyone and everything. The rain started to pour down on her, making it hard to see where she was headed. It didn't matter though; she didn't know where she was going anyway. All she knew is that she had to get away from Tree Hill, the one place she'd ever called home. But soon, she grew tired and overcome with emotion she fell to her knees and let the rainfall over her fragile body. She wept. She cried. She screamed. Until tiredness took over and, leaning up against a nearby tree, she shut her eyes and cried herself to sleep.

Meanwhile, Peyton was frantically looking around, trying to figure out which direction Brooke had gone, but as the sky grew darker and the rain, heavier, she reluctantly had to give up looking. The first thing she did the next morning was to go to Brooke's house to see if she was there. She'd knocked for half an hour, getting no reply. Figuring that Brooke probably just didn't want to see her, she went home, got ready and went to school. But Brooke wasn't' there either and fear began to bubble in her stomach. Even when she was at her worst, Brooke Davis never missed school and she never missed cheerleading practice. Peyton walked over to the gym, where the other cheerleaders were practicing tossing their hair about and waving around their pompoms. They looked at her with disgust when they saw Peyton approaching, making Peyton never feel happier that she'd quit the team.

"Have any of you seen Brooke?" She asked them.

"Shouldn't you, like, know where she is?" Amber asked, flicking her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

"Cha, you are her best friend" Courtney said.

Peyton shook her head. Trust the cheerleaders not to know what was going on outside of cheerleading. Not even with 'one of their own'. "No, we're not really speaking to each other." Ok so it was an understatement, but Peyton really didn't have time to dish out the whole of the story to them, she just had to find Brooke. "So do you know where she is or not?"

"No, we haven't seen her since yesterday."

"Yeah, we have no clue. We rang her but no one picked up"

"I knew she'd quit the team"

The cheerleaders nodded and mumbled to themselves as Peyton sighed frustrated and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Well if you see her, can you please tell her I was looking for her?"

"Sure, whatever" replied Courtney.

"Thanks." This was starting to really worry Peyton. Hoisting her backpack further onto her shoulder, she exited the gym and thought of where to go next, but couldn't think where she'd be. "I have to find her." She said to herself, as she ran off towards her car. "I'm coming Brooke"


	3. On The Right Track

_**Thanks for the reviews!! I'm glad you like it : ) **_

She didn't know what time it was when she woke up. Angrily tapping her watch for a while, she gave up after it refused to start again. Taking it off she threw it in no particular direction. After a little while, Brooke got up off the ground and looked around. She'd walked further than she thought she had and now she was awake, it was time to decide which way she was going to go. With one last look at the road she'd come down she turned and continued walking in the opposite direction. She wished she'd brought clothes or her car or money, but she guessed she had to accept the consequences of her spur of the moment runaway. Shoving her hands into the pockets of her jeans, she shivered as she walked along the side of the road. It was eerily quiet. No cars passed by and the trees seemed to be reaching out their branches to her, like long bony hands. Brooke never thought that the daylight was scary, but this time it was freaking her out, so she looked down at the floor, watching her feet as they moved one in front of the other. "All I have to do is keep moving." She thought to herself. "Soon I'll find somewhere to stay, get a job and start a new life." It was a provocative thought.

-----

As soon as she'd gotten in her car, Peyton picked up her cell phone and called Lucas.

"Lucas, she's missing," She said, as soon as Luke picked up his phone. "And I don't know where she is and neither do the cheerleaders and she wasn't in school and she wasn't at home and I don't know what to do!" Her voice was breaking with every word she was saying. Taking deep breaths she calmed herself and continued. "I'm in my car now, can I come pick you up?"

"Whoa, slow down and gimme a second to take this all in! She's missing? How do you know she's not just avoiding you?"

"That's not her thing Lucas, trust me. Just please come help me look?"

Lucas sighed. "Ok, meet me outside the caf

"Okay" Peyton hung up the phone and focused all her attention on getting to Karen's café. Once Lucas was in the car she sped off. "Which way?"

"Uh... I dunno, um... just go straight ahead." He said

The blonde nodded and turned her car. "What if we don't find her?"

"Are you always this pessimistic?"

"Lucas..."

"We'll find her"

They'd only been driving for a few minutes when something caught Peyton's eye. Slowing the car down to a stop she got out and ran over to where something gold and shiny lay.

"What is it?" Lucas asked, getting out of the car and joining his companion.

"It's Brooke's watch." Peyton said, fear in her eyes and in her voice.

"At least we know we're on the right track. Come on, let's keep driving." He turned around and returned to the car, getting in the drivers seat. "I'll drive, you're gonna get us both killed with the speed your driving."

Too scared and too emotional to argue, Peyton reluctantly got into the passenger seat, clutching the watch to her heart, as if it was the last thing she had of Brooke. "I can't believe we did all this!"

Lucas didn't say anything, just started the car and continued to drive.

Sorry my chapters are so short!


	4. Hello, Prince Charming

She seemed to have been walking forever and her legs hurt. Deciding it was time for a rest, she once again found the nearest tree and sat down by it. Since her walk she'd only seen three cars on the road. All three were full of men, who honked and whistled as they drove past. Even the world outside of Tree Hill thought Brooke was a slut. She laughed, bitterly.

She was so lost in her thoughts she didn't notice the red car pull up and a tall man get out. It was only until his deep booming voice rang out, that Brooke looked up, startled by his presence. "Need a ride, miss?" he asked.

Brooke looked the man up and down. He had sparkling blue eyes and dark brown, almost black hair. His smile was slightly crooked, but in a nice way and his arms seemed strong and tanned. Even though she knew it was a bad idea to get into a car with a stranger, she nodded, holding out her hand for help up. The man gladly obliged.

"I'm Rex Gilmore," He said.

"Brooke Davis."

"Where are you headed?"

"As far away from Tree Hill as possible" She replied, her eyes fixed on his.

"Well I can't say that Bridgewater is the furthest place from Tree Hill, but it's the best I can do. There's a cab service there anyway, if you wanna go any further." Rex smiled, still holding onto Brooke's hand. He surveyed her. She had shoulder length brown hair and beautiful brown eyes. Her smile lit up the place and her dimples were too sweet. She couldn't of been older than 17 or 18. He was captivated.

"Bridgewater would be fine."

He led her to his car and helped her in, even shutting and closing the door for her, before returning to the driver's side and starting up the engine. "So how come you're out here all alone?"

"Just am" she replied simply, not really in the mood to pour out her heart-wrenching story to a complete stranger.

Sensing that she wasn't in a sharing mood, Rex changed the subject. "So, do you have anywhere to stay?" He inquired. Brooke shook her head.

"I'm kinda broke," She said, attempting to laugh, but just having it catch in her throat.

"You can stay with me if you want." He said, gaining a sceptical look from Brooke. "Just for a while. I mean I have a spare room and you could have 24/7 access to the fridge at all times, and it's pretty near town so you could get a job or go shop or whatever and I'll help you look for an apartment, it's not like I'm some freaky dude who just randomly asks strangers to move in with him... not that I'm asking you to move in with me, I mean if you want to stay in a hotel that's fine it's just tha - . "He was interrupted by Brooke holding up her hand to silence him.

Brooke rolled her eyes at him rambling on. It was cute. "It's ok, I know what you mean." She said. "You're just being so nice, is all."

"Well, lets just say you're a damsel in distress and I'm here to be your Prince Charming."

It was cheesy, but it made Brooke smile her first real smile since this whole thing with Peyton and Lucas began.

Peyton and Lucas. Would they even notice she was gone? She shrugged the thought off and kept looking at her 'prince charming'. Maybe things would be okay.

_**Yes so okay, why would she get into a car with a stranger? But hey, Peyton and Lucas were sure to catch up with her if she was walking, right? Meh! **_


	5. Call Off The Search

_Thanks to all the people who reviewed! This chapters for you guys..._

**_oth/o.c.fan213_****_: Well, Rex and Brooke aren't together right now, but I don't really know what I've got in store for him in later chapters, so you never know!_**

_**Let me know what you guys want from the story and I'll do my best to write it! **_

Peyton was beginning to get frantic with worry. "She can't have walked this far in such a short amount of time Lucas! Something is wrong! What if she's been kidnapped or raped or both! Or worse, what if she's been killed? Oh God Lucas!"

"Calm down. Look, Brooke's strong, right? She's out there somewhere, laughing at us because she knows we're worrying our heads off." Lucas reassured her, placing one of his masculine hands over her pale quivering ones.

She looked up at him, tears in her eyes and he wondered just how close Brooke and Peyton were. "You're getting way scared over this Peyton and it's kinda freaking me out. What's wrong? Why are you this worried?"

Peyton exploded. "What do you mean, how am I this worried? How do you think!! My best friend is missing and it's because of us that she is! We're the reason she ran out of the café in that state! We're the reason she's sad. Hell, we're the reason she's broken." Tears cascaded down her cheeks. "I've broken my best friend." Peyton looked away, her gaze focused on the trees that passed by. "When we were little, we did everything together. Only a few days after we became friends we knew all each other's secrets. It was like we were meant to be friends. She told me.... "She glanced up at Lucas.

He was still looking at the road, but he urged her to continue, showing he was listening. Peyton sighed.

"She told me how her parents were never around and whenever they were they were mean to her. She said that she was used to being alone, but now she had me and she made me promise we'd be friends forever. I said that we would and... and that I'd never ever hurt her. I promised to keep her safe and now look! 7 years later and I've already broken my promise"

Lucas didn't know what to say, so he just looked at Peyton and used his thumb to wipe away a tear that was falling down her cheek, before looking back at the road. The further they got, the more he worried that they wouldn't find Brooke. It was beginning to get dark and Lucas stopped the car. Peyton looked at him shocked. "Lucas!"

"I don't think we're gonna find her Peyton, at least not in the dark. We should turn back and tell the police or something."

"We can't! What if she's hurt?"

"She's not! She's fine! I'm taking you home." He stubbornly turned the car around and drove back the way they'd came, back to Tree Hill. Peyton looked behind her at the road. She had a terrible feeling that she'd never see Brooke again.

It had been 3 years since Brooke ran away from Tree Hill. Rex was still her prince charming, and although they were nothing more than friends, the bond between them was unbreakable. And with a male best friend she knew that he'd never cheat on her with her own boyfriend. At least she hoped. She hardly ever thought of Tree Hill. Bridgewater was a peaceful place and turned out to be a lot further away from Tree Hill than Rex had made out. She had her own flat, a steady job as a waitress and a decent salary. If her friends from tree hill could see her now, they'd never believe it was true. The once slutty and sassy teenage girl was now a 20-year-old waitress in a dumpy, but nice diner, 120 miles away. She liked her life. More than when she was in Tree Hill anyway. She had friends, who knew nothing about 'the old Brooke' and she had her puppy. Life was going pretty good.

"Hey Mandy!" Brooke said to the owner of the diner, as she entered and took off her jacket. "Which tables am I having today?"

Amanda smiled. Brooke was a dedicated worker. "3, 8 and 4." She said, handing her a notepad to take the orders on.

"You got it!" The 20 year old said, smiling. It was a pretty easy job and she loved interacting with all the customers. Most of them were regulars and over the three years she'd seen all of their ups and downs. She'd seen people come and go. It was her way of seeing the world. Making her way over to table 8 she flipped open her pad and smiled. "Hey there, what can I get you?" she said.

"Ummmm... a slice of cherry pie and a cup of coffee please." Said the elderly woman, opening her purse and counting her change.

"It was your birthday yesterday, right?" said Brooke. This old lady was their most regular customer.

"Why yes, it was!" The old lady beamed.

"Then that cherry pie and coffee is on the house. I insist!" She grinned again at the old lady and went to give her order in at the desk.

The day was generally pretty quiet. Most of Brooke's time was spent mopping up the floors. She did everything she could to help Amanda with the diner. It was the least she could do. With a small smile she'd remembered the first time she'd met Amanda, just four days after she'd arrived at Bridgewater. Walking into the diner, Brooke had marched straight up the counter, slapped her hand on the counter and declared, "I need a job and I'll do anything."

The shock on Amanda's face wasn't easy to miss, as she stared at this small teenage girl, who had no experience, no qualifications and hadn't even finished school yet. Not being one to turn away people in need, Amanda had given Brooke a job. The rest, you could say, was history.

For a few weeks Brooke had stayed with Rex, until she had enough money to put a deposit on a flat. Rex still helped Brooke out with the rent but generally Brooke was doing it on her own and she couldn't be happier. It was a miracle she hadn't been found. As soon as she'd run away, missing posters were put up everywhere and the news was blaring out about a missing teenage girl whose parents were desperately awaiting her arrival home, but the people on the screen weren't the parents she'd known. Granted she didn't really know them very well at all, but they'd seemed so distraught that they might not see their child again. It was a joke really. Even as they sobbed their hearts out, they were in another country. Some people had recognised Brooke and she'd begged them to keep quiet. They had. Bridgewater may have been a new place, but it was a small town and the people were loyal. Brooke was safe.

Finishing up her work for the day, Brooke reached up to pull the elastic out of her hair, letting it fall loosely upon her shoulders. She flashed her dimpled smile at Amanda before leaving the diner. Rex was waiting for her outside and her smile grew bigger. "Hey, Prince Charming." She said, wrapping her arms around him.

"Hey." he laughed, hugging her back.

"What're you doing here?"

"I got out of work early and just thought I'd come down here and we could grab a bite to eat or go see a movie or something." He said, letting go of her and instead, hanging his arm lightly around her shoulders.

She lifted her hand up to her shoulder, taking his hand in hers and looked up at him. "That's so sweet""Anything for you." Rex and Brooke began walking slowly. Brooke adored Rex. For once she had a male in her life that didn't want anything from her. He wasn't with her for sex, or a relationship, he just enjoyed her company. Sometimes Brooke thought that this was too good to be true.

As the pair neared their favourite eating place, Rex lifted his arm off her shoulder and dug around in his pocket for his wallet, pushed open the door of the restaurant and stepped inside. Brooke followed him in, looking around at the décor she knew so well. Suddenly she gasped. "My purse! I left it at the café, we have to go back!" She said.

"It's ok, I'll buy." Rex said, laughing, his blue eyes twinkling. "Amanda will keep your purse safe, we'll go pick it up later." Brooke grinned.

"What would I do without you?" She asked.

"Oh repeatedly fall over, snort and do many other embarrassing and disgusting things. Don't try to deny it Brooke, you'd be a nerd," He nodded slowly, a look of mock sympathy on his chiselled features.

Brooke said nothing. The truth was that without Rex she'd probably be dead. She owed him her life.


	6. Sleep And Food

The phone rang, jolting Peyton Sawyer from a deep sleep. She sat up, rubbed her eyes and groaned, reaching over to pick up the phone. "Hello?" she said, still rubbing her eyes frustrated.

"Not planning on coming into college today then?" a deep male voice said on the other end of the phone. Lucas. Peyton signed.

"You are too sarcastic. My alarm didn't go off." She glanced at her alarm clock. "In fact I'm thinking the batteries are dead, because it says it's 2"

"It is 2. 2pm"

"2pm!!!" Peyton screamed, hurriedly throwing the covers off her and running over to her closet to search for clothes to wear, resting the phone between her shoulder and ear as she looked. "Dear God!"

"Haven't you ever heard of those alarm clocks that use electricity? You might wanna look into buying one." Lucas chuckled at his own lame joke.

"Again with the sarcasm."

"Sorry, Sorry. So I was thinking that we could do something fun this week." He said. "You know, for the summer"

Peyton smiled. Ever since her best friend Brooke had run away years before, Lucas was there to help Peyton through. It was as if everyone she'd ever cared about was leaving her and although she knew she had no right to feel sorry for herself, she couldn't help it. It wasn't long before Lucas and Peyton's relationship grew into something more than friendship – again. Now they were closer than ever.

Struggling to pull on her pants, Peyton nodded, before realising that Lucas couldn't see her. "Uh Yeah sounds great, what did you have planned?" She said, before screaming as she lost her balance and toppled to the floor, landing on her ass with a thud.

Luke laughed, knowing what his girlfriend had just done. Moving the cell phone to his other ear, he clicked open Peyton's website, watching her jump around on the web cam. "I was thinking we'd go to Bridgewater. It's a place not far from here and it's supposed to be a pretty cool place to just go and hang out. I don't know what's there but if it sucks we can always just come home." He reasoned. Then he smiled. "You might wanna turn off your web cam while you're changing, there are a lot of perverts online you know." He glanced around at the other people who were happily typing away in the computer room.

Peyton screamed once more, covering the web cam with a sweater, not before glaring into it and pulling a face, making Lucas love her more than ever. "Sure, that'd be cool. When do you want to leave?"

"Whenever. Tomorrow?"

"Okay. I'd better go, I can't dress and talk at the same time."

"I noticed"

"Sarcastic!!" Peyton laughed before hanging up the phone and tossing it on her bed. Now she was able to actually get dressed, she was ready and out of the door in 10 minutes, her perfect blonde curls bouncing gently. It was only a 20-minute walk to college and as she approached she couldn't help but look up at the building in amazement. She'd wanted to go to art college, she was great and drawing and she knew it, but with much convincement from Lucas, she decided to go to the same college as him, studying English, Law and Art. The Art course wasn't as detailed as it would have been in an art college, but it was pretty cool and enough to give her the opportunities she needed to have a career in the 'drawing business' as Luke called it.

Walking through the entrance, all Peyton could hear was her boots thudding on the tiled floor. Reaching her English class she pushed open the door and went inside. "Nice of you to grace us with your presence miss Sawyer." Said her professor, reminding her so much of Tree Hill High School.

"Yeah it is, isn't it?" She said, taking a seat.

The professor peered over his spectacles at her, holding back a smile and continued to teach.

Brooke sighed as a thick sweater covered the webcam. She didn't often visit Peyton's site. After all, Tree Hill was her old life, but sometimes she just couldn't help it. With another loud sigh she got up and left the Internet café and returned back to her small, yet cosy apartment. Flopping down on the couch and taking off her shoes, she grinned as her small Puppy jumped up on the couch next to her. She'd called the dog New. Not really a common name for a dog, but she felt that that was what he was. Part of her new life. It actually suited him, if that was at all possible. His big brown eyes were full of curiosity and wonder. Wherever Brooke went, New was sure to follow. She petted him gently behind the ear and flicked on the television. The reception wasn't all that great, but it was tolerable and Brooke curled up on the couch as the advertisements invaded the screen. It wasn't long before she'd fallen asleep.

It was 7 hours later before she woke up. She looked around the room, panicked, convinced that for the first time in her life she was going to be late for work, before she realised that today was the first day of summer and Rosa had kindly given Brooke a few weeks off, as had Rex's boss. Rex and Brooke planned to spend some of their time off just lazing around on the beach, which was fine by her. "I desperately need a tan," she thought as she pinched and pulled at her pale skin. With a stretch and a yawn Brooke pulled herself up off the couch and shuffled into the kitchen, picking up the telephone as she went. Dialling the oh-so familiar number of Rex Gilmore's phone, she opened the fridge door and stuck her head in, rummaging around for something to eat. Rex picked up his phone.  
  
"Hello?" He said. Brooke smiled hearing his voice.

"Hello kind sir, I was wondering if you had any plans to fill your first day as a non-working man." Brooke said, in her most posh voice.

Rex laughed. "I can't say that I do. Although, there is this girl that I am just dying to hang around with. You might know her. Brooke Davis?" He said, playing along.

"Hmmmm Oh Yes, I've heard of her. Isn't she just fab?" She giggled. She didn't really think she was fab. In fact she didn't really think she was much of anything anymore.

"She is indeed. I'll be over in about half an hour, ok?"

"Ok, bring food."

"Will do. Bye" Rex hung up the phone while Brooke shut the fridge door, not finding anything, and returned to her place on the couch, poking New as she flopped down next to him. "Hey New, you lazy little mutt."

New looked up at her, yawned and lay his head back down, falling asleep and beginning to snore. Brooke laughed. New was defiantly one of her best friends.

Half an hour to the second later, there was a knock at the door and Brooke flung the front door open, grinning from ear to ear. "Food?"

"Is that all you think about, is your stomach?" Rex said handing her a large bag, filled to the brim with delicious things.

Brooke laughed. "That and what I'm going to fill it with." She said honestly. "My fridge is empty. I think I forgot to include how much money I'm gonna need for food and televisions when I said 'Oh I can afford this place'" she laughed, gesturing to the TV when she mentioned it. "It's on the blink again. I don't watch that much TV but come on!" Her thoughts about the TV were soon forgotten as she began searching through the bag, saying 'oooooh' and 'aaaah' to everything she saw.

Rex watched her with fascination and let out a snort, and then looked horrified with himself before blaming it on the dog, who was still fast asleep.

Rolling her eyes, the brunette girl reminded Rex that the dog was asleep, before bursting out in fits of laughter. "You snorted!" she said, tears rolling down her cheeks.

He was embarrassed and hid his head in his hands, shaking it slightly. "I have a feeling you're not gonna let this drop anytime soon."

Brooke shook her head and proceeded to snort and do her best impression of a pig. "Who am I?" she said, barely being able to spit out her sentence between her laughs.

"Let me guess... me?"

Brooke screeched. "YES! THE SNORTER!!" her laugh filled the room once more, making Rex smile too. It was hard to resist the urge to laugh whenever Brooke laughed. Her laugh was contagious. Soon Rex was joining in too, laughing at his own stupidity, as Brooke rolled around on the floor, still finding time to stuff her face with food. She was a whole different person than who she was in Tree Hill.


	7. Reality

**Aw man, I suck! I haven't updated for ages but I've been so swamped with like, everything, as well as having a crazy case of writers block! It's been an insane couple of months. I'm sorry, I swear I'll try and update sooner… This chapters short, but the next on will be longer, I promise!**

"Is that all?" Lucas asked, loading Peyton's stuff into the back of the car. Peyton nodded, rubbing her hands together as if she'd just had the very hard and stressful job of loading the car. Lucas raised his eyebrow, and Peyton grinned in return, getting into the passenger side of Lucas' car.

"Well come on then, we don't have all day!"

"It's 9am, yes we do!" Lucas laughed, getting into the drivers seat.

Peyton poked her tongue out at Lucas as he started the car and began to drive. "As soon as we get to this Bridgethingy place we are so going to get something to eat." Peyton said as her stomach rumbled for the fourth time since they'd started driving, just 10 minutes ago. They'd only been driving a little while when Peyton gasped, recognising the road that they were driving down. Lucas, never being the particularly observant one, looked at her in concern. "What?" he asked.

"Don't you recognise it?" Peyton said, looking back at him. He shook his head. "This is the road we drove down when we were looking for Brooke."

Lucas looked back at the road, realising that Peyton was right, but not knowing what to say. The reality was, this could be the road that leads them to Brooke and that thought choked the atmosphere. The rest of their journey was spent in silence.


	8. Hello Stranger

They sat in the diner where Brooke usually worked, opposite each other; after Brooke decided that even though she had time off, it was only fair she stayed there, in case Rosa needed help. Rex held his coffee in his hands while Brooke stuck to ice-cold lemonade. "How can you be drinking coffee, doofus? It's about a million billion degrees outside."

"I like coffee." Rex said simply. "Besides, I'm a man, I can take the heat."

Brooke had a mental image of Rex beating his fists on his chest in a manly fashion and spat out her mouthful of lemonade all over him. Cupping her hand over her mouth, half in horror and half to stop herself laughing she looked at him, only moving her hand when she was sure she could keep her laughter under control. "Oh man, I am so sorry." She said, her voice cracking slightly. _Don't laugh, do not laugh. She thought. _

Rex shook his hands, looked at Brooke and grinned. "I'm fine. A little sticky and covered in Brooke spit and lemonade, but I think I'll survive."

Relief swept over Brooke. He wasn't mad. "Maybe you should go home and have a shower and get changed."

"That's a good idea."

"I'll wait here. You go wash, but don't be too long, ok? I'm gonna order us more drinks"

Rex nodded and left. It was only a few minutes later when Brooke wished she wasn't alone, as two people she hoped she'd never see again, walked into the diner.

-

Peyton stopped immediately, when she saw who sat at the table in the diner. Lucas bashed into her. "Hey, walking here!" he said, but fell silent as he followed her gaze to where Brooke looked back at them, with horror in her eyes.

Neither of them knew what to do. It was only when the other customers looked Peyton and Lucas weird that they decided to walk the rest of the way into the diner, choosing a table nearest to where Brooke sat. It was a few minutes before Peyton dared to speak.

"Hello Stranger." She said, her voice small and full of fear.

Brooke glanced at her, half smiled and replied. "Hey." She looked over at Lucas, who looked even more uncomfortable than the girls were. "Hey to you too, Broody."

It had felt like forever since they had seen each other and all Peyton wanted to do was hug Brooke and tell her over and over again how sorry she was and how much she'd missed her. Instead she stayed put. Lucas shifted in his seat, hearing Brooke's nickname for him.

"It's been a long time." Said Peyton. _Too long._

"Yeah, it has." Brooke replied. She wanted to still be mad at them. To blank them and walk out, but something was telling her not too. Something inside her was telling her to ask them to take her home. But she was home, she argued with herself. She'd often imagined seeing them again and envisioned what she'd say to them. _"Oh it's you". She'd have said. "Well I don't have time for you right now. Calvin Klein is going to take me to Italy and I need to get packed." _ Ok, well she knew that it wouldn't turn out quite like that, but she still thought that all these stupid emotions would be gone. That she'd be strong enough to face them, but she wasn't. She wasn't ready.

"How have you been?" Lucas asked, but immediately regretted asking as a sarcastic smirk flashed across Brooke's face.

"Peachy. You?"

"Never better." He said. _Again with the foot in the mouth, he thought._

Brooke let out a bitter laugh, finding it a bit easier to deal with this situation as hatred boiled up inside her. "Never better?" she repeated.

Lucas sighed. "I didn't mean like that."

"Yeah, you know how his foot likes to live in his mouth." Peyton joked, trying to lighten the mood. It didn't work. After another couple of minute's silence, Peyton got up the courage to say what she'd wanted to say since she'd set eyes on Brooke for the first time in 3 years. "I've missed you."

Tears prickled in Brooke's eyes but she refused to let them drop. She opened her mouth, about to reply, when Rex returned to the diner, his hair slightly damp and the neck of his t-shirt covered in water. He sat back down in his seat, not noticing the people on the table next to them, or the look Brooke was giving them.

"There, good as new." He laughed, tugging at his t-shirt.

Brooke snapped her attention to him, welcoming the distraction from her two former friends. She let out a small half-hearted laugh. "You could have washed your hair **after** you changed your t-shirt."

"Ah, I'm not that smart Davis, you know that." He joked.

Lucas and Peyton watched this mystery man as he joked about with Brooke as though they'd been friends for years. _They probably have, Peyton thought. She's been gone for three. _Lucas was watching more than Peyton, as Rex laughed at something Brooke had just said. He was Lucas' replacement. He must be. Even though Lucas was the one who screwed the relationship between him and Brooke up, he still felt jealousy. _Brooke is mine! _He thought. But she wasn't. Not anymore.

Brooke waved her hand nonchalantly at Rex's previous comment. "Whatever, Prince Charming"

_She's even given him a nickname, Peyton and Lucas both thought._

Peyton cleared her throat, clearly wanting to be introduced to Rex. Brooke didn't disappoint her.

"Oh, um, Rex, this is Peyton and Lucas, some people I used to know from back in Tree Hill." She said, avoiding saying friends.

Rex held out his hand, shaking Peyton then Lucas's hand. "Rex Gilmore pleased to meet you. So you knew Brooke when she was a kid eh?" He looked at Brooke, then back at Peyton and Lucas, remembering one of their previous conversations. "Was she a nerd? I always thought she was a nerd."

Embarrassed, Brooke reached across the table and punched his arm lightly. "Drop it dude"

He held his arms up in surrender. "Alright."

It was then that Peyton got up from her chair. "Excuse me." She said, her voice brimming with emotion, as she ran out of the diner.

Lucas started to stand up too, but Brooke stopped him, placing a hand on his arm. "Let me go." She said, leaving the diner and following after Peyton. She caught up with her about halfway down the street. She'd missed her so much. She was willing to admit that now. "I missed you too." She said, keeping her eyes fixed ahead of her. Peyton looked up at her, tears in her eyes.

"God B, look at you!" she said. "You're so thin and so pale. I thought you were dead! How could you run away? I was so scared for you!" Tears were falling down her cheeks fast.

Brooke sighed. If this were 3 years ago, she'd have yelled at Peyton. Dared her to try and make this situation out to be her fault, but her time in Bridgewater had changed her. She turned to face her friend, using her thumb to wipe away her tears. It had been so long since they'd seen each other, but now here they were and it was as if all their anger had dissolved.

"I'm sorry. I had to get away I guess. It wasn't as if I had any friends around there anyway."

"You had me."

"And you had Lucas… Look, I don't want to talk about that, ok?"

"Okay."

Linking arms with Peyton, she grinned. "Hey Friend."

Peyton laughed through her tears. "So is Rex your boyfriend?"

Brooke shook her head. "Just a friend. I probably **would **have been dead if it wasn't for him." She said truthfully. Peyton nodded her head.

"Are you coming home?" She asked warily.

"I am home."

"No, you're not. Tree Hill is your home." Pleading eyes turned to look at Brooke. "Please come home."

"Peyton…"

"Please!"

"I don't know. I ran away for a reason."

Peyton's brow furrowed in confusion. "Lucas and I were the reason. But we're cool now, right? It's been three years…"

The brunette sighed. _'Thanks for reminding me, Peyton' she thought bitterly. _She let her anger and hatred subside as she turned to face her best friend. "I didn't run away just because of you guys, although you were a part of it." She said, truthfully. "There's a lotta junk you don't know."

"Well come home and you can tell me about it!" Peyton replied, nodding. "I need you Brooke! Please…"

Tears welled up in Brooke's eyes as Peyton begged for her to come home. She'd never felt more wanted and it was confusing her that the person who'd betrayed her was the one who really needed her. But she did need her and right now, that was all that mattered.

"Okay."

Peyton's face lit up. "Okay?"

Brooke nodded in confirmation. "Okay. If it doesn't work out… if… if stuff happens, I'm gonna come back here, got it?"

"Yeah, got it."

Okay folks, help me out here because I haven't decided what stuff happened to Brooke to make her leave! Suggestions will be appreciated!


	9. Tree Hill Awaits

The rest of the day was busy. Rex and Lucas, who had surprisingly hit it off quite well, loaded some of Brooke's stuff into Lucas' car, while Brooke and Peyton took New over to Rex's apartment. Rex would be looking after the dog while Brooke was away.

Letting herself into his apartment with her key, Brooke flopped down on his couch and sighed. "His place is ten times better than mine," she said, stating the obvious.

Peyton looked around. "Yeah it must cost a fortune."

"Surprisingly it's not that much. Just too much for my salary." Brooke laughed.

"Brooke, can I ask you something?" Said Peyton, seriousness in her voice.

"Sure."

"What did you mean by 'if stuff happens'?" She said, referring to their earlier conversation.

"Huh?"

"Before. You said that if stuff happens, you'd have to come back here."

Brooke ran her fingers through her hair. "Uh… it's not important."

"Well it kinda is if it's the reason you ran away."

"Look, can we just drop it for now?" Frustrated, Brooke got up off the couch and petted her dog. "You be a good dog! No peeing on the carpet…" She glanced quickly at the floor. "Actually, pee away in this room because this carpet is too gross." She stood up straight and turned to Peyton. "Come on, Friend. Tree Hill awaits."

**_Okay, so I still don't know what else could have happened to Brooke to make her want to run away! So if anyone has any idea's I'd seriously appreciate it if you told me in a review or e-mailed me; _**


	10. The Return

Brooke looked out of the window as the car pulled up outside Karen's Café. The ride down had been painfully quiet, except for when Lucas tried to make conversation. Peyton and Lucas hadn't mentioned to Brooke that they were a couple again, fearing it would only make things worse. Whereas Brooke and Peyton's reconciliation had been easy, Lucas and Brooke's wasn't and in her opinion, they're relationship as friends would never be the same. Lucas was the one she was in love with. The one she'd trusted her heart with and to her, his cheating on her was a much bigger deal than who it was with, although obviously the fact that it was Peyton broke her heart a bit too. The truth was, was that as close as the two girls were, they'd had arguments often and even though they weren't as bad as their last one, it made the situation different.

Lucas, Peyton and Brooke all got out of the car. The irony of where they were wasn't lost on Brooke. _The last place I was and now the first place I return. _

The bell rang softly as they entered. Karen was standing behind the counter, rag in hand, wiping down the counters as if her life depended on them and Lucas cleared his throat to get her attention. She looked up and her face broke out into a huge smile when she saw who accompanied her son and his girlfriend. "Brooke!" She said, coming out from behind the counter and engulfing her in a warm hug. "It's been so long. How have you been? You look so good!"

Brooke smiled, showing of her famous dimples. "Mrs. Rowe it's so great to see you." She said, dodging Karen's question. "This place looks great. Just how I remembered it."

"Call me Karen. Mrs. Rowe makes me feel old." She chucked. Are you staying for coffee?" Karen inquired.

Lucas shook his head. "No" He turned to Brooke and Peyton. "I thought we could go see Haley and Nathan. They got married." He told Brooke.

Brooke's mouth fell open in shock. "Tutor Girl and Nathan?" With a squeal she practically dragged Peyton and Lucas out of the café, waving goodbye to Karen as they left and they set off to visit The Scott's.

Haley was the one who opened the door of hers and Nathan's apartment. The look on her face was priceless. "Brooke? Brooke Davis?"

The woman laughed and nodded her head. "The one and only. How you doing Tutor Girl?" receiving her second hug since her arrival. She grinned and hugged Haley back. They hadn't been that close while she'd been in Tree Hill. At least she didn't think they'd been, but Haley seemed as pleased to see her again as Peyton did. She'd have to do some thinking later.

"Doing good! Even better now. You've been gone so long." She said, jutting out her bottom lip and looking at Brooke like a wounded puppy.

"Yeah, I know."

Haley held the door open further, ushering Brooke, Peyton and Lucas inside. "So tell me everything!"

"Everything?"

Haley nodded enthusiastically. "Every last detail!"

Brooke shifted in her seat uncomfortably. "There's not really much to tell… I went to Bridgewater and got a job and an apartment and a dog and a new best friend, Rex, and that's about it." She said, laughing slightly.

Peyton looked hurt at Brooke's comment. A new best friend.

Lucas grinned. "He's the cutest."

All three girls looked at him strangely.

"Rex?" Said Peyton, a little horror in her voice.

A loud laugh escaped from Lucas' mouth. "No you goof, the dog!"

"Oh, thank God! If you thought Rex was cute I would seriously have to re-evaluate our relationship." She said, quickly covering her mouth as she realised what she just said.

"You… You guys are… together?" Brooke asked in a timid voice.

Peyton nodded slowly, a guilty look on her face. "We didn't mean for you to find out like this…"

Brooke shook her head. "No, it's okay." She smiled a little and shrugged. "Not my business."

The words cut through Lucas and Peyton like a knife as they remembered the night Brooke left. Those words.

For what seemed like the hundredth time since their reuniting, there was silence between them. In an attempt to lighten the mood Haley stood up. "So, does anyone want any tea or coffee?"

"No thanks. I think I'm actually going to go for a walk. You know, I haven't seen my old house for a while… I should go back there." She said, rising from her seat and smoothing out her skirt.

As if on instinct, Peyton and Lucas rose too. "Do you want us to come with you?" Lucas asked.

"No" She turned around and left the apartment, leaving her three friends behind. She walked down the street, looking around at everything she'd missed while she'd been gone. It felt like her time in Bridgewater was just a big dream. Being back here felt so right, even though in Brooke's mind she knew it was so wrong. She walked slowly to her house, with mixed feelings of anticipation, excitement and dread. She was curious as to whether her room had been changed. If anything had been redecorated. _'There's only one way to find out' _She thought as she rummaged around on the doorframe for the spare key, found it and put it into the lock. She opened the door. "Hello?" She called out, half expecting the worried parents that she'd seen on the news come running down the stairs, but instead there was no reply. The house was dark and just as empty as she'd remembered it. Taking off her coat and dumping it on the floor, she switched on a light and walked up the stairs to her room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as when she'd left, albeit somewhat tidier. Her photo's still covered any flat surface and her bed was neatly made with the same sheets that were on when she left. Her wardrobe had all her clothes in it. It was as if she'd never left and it was all too much. Tears welled up in her eyes as she sat down on the edge of her bed, letting the emotion overcome her. And she cried.


	11. Princess Jenny and King Jake

She cried for what seemed like hours, before her tears seemed to have dried up. Flopping back on her bed she stared up at the ceiling. For a moment if felt as if she'd never been away and she was still the same girl who'd left. After a while she got up and sat down in front of her vanity table, gently brushing her hair out of her face with her fingers. She wiped her tears away and looked down at the table. Her make-up still lay strewn across it, half empty pots of blush and foundation, untouched. She looked around her room once more, before turning to the door and leaving the room. She didn't know where she was headed and the situation reminded her all too much of when she made the decision that changed her life, so she stopped and sat down on a nearby bench, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on them.

"Brooke?" Brooke looked up to find Jake standing in front of her, Jenny in his arms. "It is you!" he exclaimed, smiling. "Do you mind if I…?" He gestured to the empty place next to Brooke.

She nodded and shifted up as Jake took a seat next to her.

"So how have you been?" She asked. "And this little princess?" Brooke reached out her hand to Jenny and the little girl grinned. She now had dark hair down to her shoulders and was the spitting image of her dad.

"We've been good, right?" Jake replied, smiling down at his little girl.

Jenny nodded. "I have been finger-painting!" she said, holding up her red, blue and yellow fingers and wiggling them about.

"That is so cool!" Brooke replied, wiggling her fingers in front of Jenny's, so that they were having a finger fight. Jenny giggled.

"Yup! I'll make you a picture if you want."

Brooke nodded, still smiling. "Sure." She liked Jenny. It was good to be talking to someone who didn't act weird around her… unlike Jake. He shifted in his place and cleared his throat before looking at Brooke. "So… where did you go?" He asked. "Peyton was real worried about you. She used to come over almost every night asking if I'd heard from you. I don't know why she thought I would have heard from you but…" he shrugged to finish his sentence.

Guilt welled up inside Brooke. "She was really that worried?"

"Yeah."

"Wow… I was in Bridgewater." Brooke said, looking down at her hands.

"Oh. How long are you back for?"

"I'm not sure." Brooke replied truthfully. "I guess it just depends on how things go."

Jake nodded. "It's really great to see you Brooke."

Brooke looked up at him, confused. "It is?"

He nodded again. "Of course it is. I mean I know we weren't really friends, but when you weren't around things got weird. It was all different."

The girl scoffed. "You mean there was no sleep around slut to go to all the parties?"

"No… I didn't mean that at all." Replied Jake, seriousness in his voice.

Brooke attempted to smile. "Sorry. Thanks." She looked at Jenny again and then up at Jake. "Do you think she'd let me hold her?" She asked.

Jenny grinned and climbed over to sit in Brooke's lap. She looked up at her with big brown eyes. "Can I call you Auntie Brooke?"

"Only if I can call you Princess Jenny."

"OKAY!" Jenny yelled, over-enthusiastically.

"I guess that makes me King Jake." Jake said, tidying up his shirt and puffing out his chest.

Brooke laughed. "Right Princess Jenny, I think I'm gonna go, ok?"

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"Um… I dunno. To find Peyton I guess." She turned to Jake. "Do you know where she is?"

Jake shook her head. "Haven't seen her"

"She must still be at Nathan and Haley's then." She said sensibly. Handing Jenny back over to Jake she got to her feet. "It was nice talking to you, King Jake"

"You too, ummm…. Brooke." He laughed and shrugged his shoulders "Take care."

"I will."

"Bye Auntie Brooke!"

Brooke laughed. "Bye Princess Jenny." She made her way back to Nathan and Haley's apartment, mentally praising herself for remembering where it was, and knocked on the door. This time, Nathan answered. He smiled. "So they weren't lying?"

"Nope, Guess not, 'cause here I am." She said, walking into the apartment and looking around, frowning at the lack of people. "They're here, right?"

"Yeah, kitchen." He replied, and then he paused before saying. "So, I don't get a hug now? He held out his arms and Brooke smiled, walking over to him and hugging him close. She pulled away and made her way to the kitchen.

Lucas and Peyton were sitting next to each other on one side of the table, while Haley was sat on the other side, opposite them. "Hey."

"You're back!" Haley grinned, pointing to a chair next to her. "Sit"

"Have you always been this bossy?" Brooke laughed, sitting next to her.

"Nah, only since I married Nathan. I have to be bossy or he'd never get his butt out of bed in the morning."

"Is that right?" Said Brooke, raising an eyebrow.

Haley slapped her arm playfully. "Get your mind out of the gutter!"

"Sorry." She said, still smiling slightly. She looked over at Lucas and Peyton and smiled. Putting on a brave face she said. "I'm happy for you guys."

They looked back at her, shocked. "What?"

"I said I'm happy for you. I'm glad you worked out. In a weird way, I guess it makes it worthwhile… I mean" Focusing her attention on Lucas she continued. "It's better that you cheated on me with Peyton, now that the relationship worked out. Obviously if I could have my way it wouldn't have happened… or at least I wouldn't have loved you, but it kind of makes it easier in a strange way… so yeah, I'm happy."

Peyton stood up and walked over to her best friend, hugging her tightly. "That means so much to me Brooke. I really love you."

"I love you too, my oh-so glum chum"

Lucas smiled and nodded. "Yeah, it means a lot to me too, B."

Brooke smiled back. She'd only been in Tree Hill one day and things were being resolved. But something in the back of her mind told her that things had to go worse from here. After all, for Brooke Davis, nothing stayed good for long.


End file.
